Hong Kong protests: Riot police stop bus to search passengers

A bus was stopped by Hong Kong riot police in Kowloon on Saturday to search passengers, a Bloomberg journalist posted on Twitter. Hong Kong witnessed renewed clashes between police and protesters on Saturday.

Huge crowds had gathered to mark the fifth anniversary of the "Umbrella Movement" , the failed pro-democracy campaign that laid the groundwork for the massive protests currently engulfing the finance hub.

Riot police also stopped buses in kowloon at the cross harbour tunnel and took passengers away in groups for search. this is happening after an approved rally in admiralty for #OccupyHK anniversary. #hongkongprotests #hongkong pic.twitter.com/w3TqDGuqJp

— Fion Li (@fion_li) September 28, 2019

Both 2014's protests and the current demonstrations were fuelled by fears that Beijing is eroding freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese city and frustrations over the lack of direct elections. But the character of the protests has noticeably hardened in the intervening years.

Compared to the current strife -- where street battles have erupted for 16 consecutive weeks -- 2014's protests were softer, with students completing classwork in the camps, recycling their waste, and the police largely avoiding direct conflict during the 79-day occupation of three key intersections.

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